Pickering property tax bills are going up about 4.82 percent overall for the 2026 tax year, combining a 3.49 percent increase on the city’s portion with the Region of Durham’s share. Your bill is the assessed value of your property multiplied by a combined tax rate set by three levels of government, and it comes due in four installments across the year.1Let’s Talk Pickering. Planning Pickering’s 2026 Budget
Where Your Tax Dollars Go
Your residential bill is split three ways. Based on Pickering’s 2026 budget:
- Region of Durham (57.82%): police, major road maintenance, transit, waste management, social assistance, child care, social housing, long-term care, public health, and ambulance services.
- City of Pickering (30.30%): fire services, recreation, libraries, local roads, parks, street lights, and storm sewers.
- Education (11.88%): the province sets this rate, and school boards decide how the money is spent. Every property owner pays it, regardless of whether anyone in the household attends school.
The Region collects the largest share because it funds services across multiple municipalities. The city’s portion covers day-to-day local operations, and the education levy is effectively a provincial charge collected through your local bill.1Let’s Talk Pickering. Planning Pickering’s 2026 Budget
How Your Property Is Assessed
The Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) sets the assessed value of every property in Ontario under the Assessment Act, which requires all real property to be assessed at its current value.2Ontario.ca. Assessment Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. A.31
Here is the part that surprises many homeowners. Ontario’s assessments have been frozen at January 1, 2016 values for years, and that freeze continues into the 2026 tax year.3Municipal Property Assessment Corporation. The Assessment Cycle Your notice reflects what MPAC determined your property would have sold for on that date, not what it would fetch today. If you bought recently at current prices, your assessed value may be lower than you expected. If the province eventually orders a reassessment, many owners will see significant jumps.
Interim and Final Tax Bills
Pickering splits the year into two billing cycles, each with two installment due dates.
The interim bill uses the previous year’s tax rate and assessment, because the current year’s budget isn’t finalized yet. Treat it as a deposit toward the annual total. For 2026, the two interim installments are due February 24 and April 24.4City of Pickering. Property Taxes
The final bill arrives later in the year once Pickering’s budget and the provincial education rate are set. It reflects the updated rates and any assessment changes, minus what you already paid on the interim bill, and carries two more installment due dates printed on the bill itself.
How to Pay
Pickering accepts payments several ways. Which one fits depends on whether you want automation or direct control.
Pre-Authorized Payment Plans
Two automatic-withdrawal options are available, and both require your tax account to be current before you enroll:
- Monthly plan: twelve equal withdrawals on the 1st, 8th, or 16th of each month. Once enrolled, you stay on the plan year after year without reapplying.
- Due-date plan: four withdrawals timed to the interim and final installment dates.
To enroll, submit an application form with a void cheque to the City of Pickering Taxation Section at One The Esplanade, Pickering, ON L1V 6K7.5City of Pickering. Paying Property Taxes
Online and Telephone Banking
Add the City of Pickering as a payee through your bank and use your property roll number as the account identifier, leaving out dashes and spaces. Allow several business days for processing before the due date. The city counts a payment as received when the funds arrive, not when you initiate the transfer.5City of Pickering. Paying Property Taxes
Through Your Mortgage Lender
If your mortgage includes a tax account, the lender collects a portion of the estimated annual tax with each monthly payment and remits it to the city when bills come due. Even so, confirm the city received the funds on time. Legal liability for unpaid taxes falls on the property owner, not the bank.
Late Penalties and Tax Sales
Missing a due date is expensive. Pickering applies a 1.25 percent penalty on the first day of default, and another 1.25 percent on the first of each calendar month the balance remains unpaid.6City of Pickering. Paying Property Taxes – Section: Service Charges and Late Fees On a $5,000 balance, that’s an extra $62.50 after the first month, and the charges keep stacking.
Multi-year arrears get far more serious. Under Ontario’s Municipal Act, a municipal treasurer can register a tax arrears certificate against a property’s title on January 1 of the second year after the taxes first became owing. Once that certificate is registered, the owner has one year to pay the full cancellation price. If the debt isn’t cleared, the municipality can sell the property at public auction.7Ontario.ca. Municipal Act, 2001, S.O. 2001, c. 25 Tax sales are rare, but a registered arrears certificate creates immediate problems for refinancing or selling.
Challenging Your Assessment
If you think MPAC has your property’s value or classification wrong, you have two levels of recourse.
Request for Reconsideration
Start with a Request for Reconsideration (RfR) filed directly with MPAC. The deadline for the 2026 tax year is March 31, 2026.8Municipal Property Assessment Corporation. Notices and Notifications The process is free and informal. Many disputes get resolved here, especially straightforward errors like an incorrect room count or lot size.
Assessment Review Board Appeal
If the RfR decision doesn’t resolve the issue, you can appeal to the Assessment Review Board (ARB), an independent tribunal. For residential properties you must receive MPAC’s RfR decision first, and you have 90 days from the mailing date on that decision to file. The filing fee is $132.50 per roll number for residential properties.9Tribunals Ontario. Filing an Appeal The ARB process is more formal and can involve a hearing.
Renovations and Missed Roll Entries
Home improvements don’t wait for the next assessment cycle. MPAC issues a supplementary assessment when a change to a property increases its assessed value by at least 5 percent or $10,000, whichever is less. You’ll get a supplementary bill from the city reflecting the higher value, prorated from the date the improvement was completed.10Municipal Property Assessment Corporation. Supplementary and Omitted Property Assessments
Omitted assessments cover properties, or parts of them, left off the roll entirely. MPAC can issue an omitted assessment for the current year and up to two preceding years, so the city can back-bill for as much as three years of missed taxes.2Ontario.ca. Assessment Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. A.31 This most commonly arises when a property was mistakenly classified as exempt or when new construction wasn’t captured on time.
Relief Programs
Pickering offers several programs that reduce the tax burden for qualifying owners.
Low-Income Seniors and Persons With Disabilities Grant
The city provides an annual property tax grant of $620 for 2026 to eligible low-income seniors and low-income persons with disabilities who own and live in their home. To qualify, you must meet one of two criteria:
- Seniors: age 65 or older and receiving (or eligible for) the Guaranteed Income Supplement under the federal Old Age Security Act.
- Persons with disabilities: receiving (or eligible for) benefits under the Ontario Disability Support Program.
The $620 grant is a fixed credit applied to your tax account. A separate deferral program lets eligible owners whose assessments have increased defer the portion of their tax increase that exceeds 5 percent or $100, whichever is greater. Application deadlines are firm, so contact the city’s taxation department early in the year to confirm dates.11City of Pickering. Tax Deferrals, Grants and Rebates
Registered Charity Tax Rebate
Registered charities occupying commercial or industrial property in Pickering may qualify for a 40 percent rebate on their property taxes. The charity must hold a registered number with the Canada Revenue Agency and submit an application to the city by the last day of February following the tax year in question. A rebate for the 2026 tax year, for example, must be filed by the end of February 2027. Applications go to the Tax Section at One The Esplanade.11City of Pickering. Tax Deferrals, Grants and Rebates
Tax Certificates for a Sale or Refinance
When you sell or refinance, your lawyer will need a property tax certificate confirming the current balance on the tax account, including any arrears or credits. In Pickering, a standard certificate costs $80 per roll number and takes five to seven business days to process. An expedited certificate costs $96 and arrives within one business day by fax, with the original mailed after.12City of Pickering. Property Tax Certificates
Requests must include the property’s full legal description and a cheque payable to the City of Pickering. The city does not release tax information verbally over the phone, so there is no shortcut around the certificate process when a closing date is approaching. Build the cost and time into your closing schedule.